Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Internets Spy Software

Internets spy software spies. Like a hidden camera monitoring the goings-on in your house without your knowledge, internets spy software surreptitiously collects information about your internet and other computer activities, and sends this information to someone else. Strictly speaking, internets spy software is a software working in your computer without your knowledge or consent. However, in a broader sense, the term internets spy software refers to a large body of malware which are used for various purposes, such as, delivering unsolicited advertisements, using private information about the user for commercial ends, and other more harmful activities. While some kinds of internets spy software are relatively benign, others can be very sinister and more dangerous than viruses.

Internets spy software can enter a computer in different ways: in the form of cookies, bundled with freeware programs, through peer-to-peer file swapping products, and also through computer virus. The worst part about internets spy software is that they install very easily. And once installed, they are extremely hard to remove!

Internets spy software not only invades one�s privacy, but can also deliberately harm in many other ways. Internets spy software can track a user�s keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop on other applications such as chat programs or word processors, install other internets spy software, and change the default home page on the web browser. Internets spy software can also gather information about e-mail addresses, passwords and credit cards leaving a user very vulnerable.

As if these were not enough, internets spy software installed in one�s computer can use up networking bandwidth and the system resources causing the computer to slow down or crash.

Today, many software are available that can tackle such internets spy software. An anti-spyware software typically scans a computer and deletes all internets spy software related entries in the windows registry file, cookies and files. If one wants to protect his or her computer and also his or her privacy, then installing such an anti-spyware software is a must. An anti-spyware should be a part of a computer user�s arsenal just like the anti-virus software!